Television: Change in Usage Strategies Demand for Program Quality Will Increase

Abstract

In her essay, Verena Doelker-Tobler reflects on the challenges and opportunities of contemporary television programming at the intersection of ethics, education, and media usage. She criticizes the stagnation in programming, where ethical and audience-specific considerations are often neglected, and advocates for innovative, audience-oriented formats – especially in the fields of education and youth programming. Recurring debates about screen violence, she argues, reveal that existing approaches have brought little real progress. Instead, she calls for a stronger link between research, program development, and ethical action.
She places particular emphasis on what she terms “B-journalism”: educational programming that, in addition to informing and entertaining, focuses on life guidance, self-empowerment, and social engagement. The “Family and Education” department of Swiss Television has already implemented concrete models, including a partnership with over 50 educational institutions through the IOEB/TV DRS network. This collaboration promotes broad access to educational content and enables audience feedback through advisory services and follow-up broadcasts.
Doelker-Tobler stresses that technical innovation alone is insufficient to address the challenges of a media-saturated society. What is needed is systematic cooperation, audience-friendly dramaturgy, and a strong sense of media responsibility. Despite commercial pressures and ratings-driven programming, ethical commitment must remain central to public broadcasting.
International examples – such as initiatives in the U.S. and the U.K. – demonstrate growing awareness of the importance of content quality. Doelker-Tobler sees this as a key opportunity for public service media to assert themselves with high-quality, differentiated offerings – and for academic research to play a supportive, guiding role in this development.